LED lights are known by consumers to be expensive, but a new trend of lower prices is making its way to the market. Home Depot is leading this trend by offering LED lights for under $20 online and in brick-and-mortar stores.

These highly-efficient bulbs have turned off some consumers simply because they are expensive, but the costs to run bulbs goes beyond the upfront costs. The total costs depend on a bulb’s lifespan, efficiency, and other variables. With Home Depot leading the pack with greatly reduced prices for LED bulbs, it may be the best time to switch to LED lights.

Advantages of LED

When it comes to preserving the environment, LED bulbs are the way to go. These lights do not contain mercury, and use fewer watts to produce the same amount of lumens as standard and fluorescent bulbs. They are simply more energy efficient. LED bulbs generate little to no heat, which helps reduce the cost for running the air conditioner. The lifespan of LED lights is incredibly long, spanning for 10 to 15 years with normal use.

Costs are Finally Down

With the cheaper cost of LED lights being offered, it is a great time to invest in them. The new EcoSmart LED bulb offered at Home Depot below $20 has a lifespan of around 50,000 hours. In contrast, a standard bulb cost $1.25 with a lifespan of 1200 hours. A fluorescent bulb cost $3.95 and has a life span of around 10,000 hours.

The amount of kilowatts used over a 50,000-hour period is 300 for an LED bulb, 700 for a fluorescent bulb, and 3,000 for a standard bulb. This means that over a 50,000-hour period, individuals would use one LED bulb, 5 fluorescent bulbs, and 42 standard bulbs. No matter how you look at it, LED is leading the way.

LED versus Fluorescent

At a rate of $0.20 per KWh, it would costs $60 to use an LED bulb, $140 to use a fluorescent bulb, and $600 to use a standard bulb. The total costs for the bulb and the electricity costs is $85.95 for an LED bulb, $159.75 for a fluorescent bulb, and $652.50 for a standard bulb. The savings are even more substantial over a 10-year period, averaging around $860 for an LED bulb, $1,597.50 for a fluorescent bulb, and $6,525 for a standard bulb. If you were to consider the costs of using multiple fluorescent or standard bulbs in your home, the difference in costs would be even more.

New LED Regulations

The government passed new regulation requiring LED bulbs to be 30% more efficient than standard bulbs by 2014, and 70% more efficient by 2020. LED bulbs may seem more expensive than alternate lighting at first glance, but when you consider the overall costs of these bulbs compared to alternative lightening, you will save more money in the end. The advantages of these bulbs far outweigh the disadvantages, and many experts in the field believe LED lights will become the wave of the future.